Volume 22 Issue 24
Inside:
The Latest On The Wesley Chapel Rotary Club! See Page 38!
November 22, 2014
Named The 2014 ‘Small Business Of The Year’ By The Wesley Chapel Chamber Of Commerce! THIS INDEPENDENT COMMUNITY NEWS MAGAZINE IS DIRECTLY MAILED TO: WESLEY CHAPEL: Aberdeen • Belle Chase • Bridgewater • Brookside • Chapel Pines • Country Walk • Lexington Oaks • Meadow Pointe • New River • Northwood • Pinewalk • Pine Ridge Saddlebrook • Saddleridge Estates • Saddlewood • Seven Oaks • The Lakes at Northwood • The Villages of Wesley Chapel • Watergrass • Wesley Pointe • Westbrook Estates • Williamsburg OUR NEW TAMPA EDITIONS ARE MAILED TO: Arbor Greene • Cory Lake Isles • Cross Creek • Easton Park • Grand Hampton • Heritage Isles • Hunter’s Green • Hunter’s Key K-Bar Ranch • Lake Forest • Live Oak Preserve • Pebble Creek • Richmond Place • Tampa Palms • The Hammocks • West Meadows
Wesley Chapel Resident Wins Commission Seat & More Election Results By Matt Wiley & Gary Nager
The 2014 Midterm General Election is a wrap and the votes are in: Yes on Scott, No on pot. Plus, several local candidates have been elected to represent the Wesley Chapel area in our county and state governments. Of the more than 40,000 registered voters in the 13 voting precincts in Wesley Chapel’s 33543, 33544 and 33545 zip codes, 20,742 submitted ballots, for a turnout of about 51 percent. Our area’s General Election turnout was just short of Pasco’s 53-percent (162,609 ballots cast of more than 300,00 registered voters) and just above the state’s turnout of 50.34 percent (with slightly more than 6 million ballots cast of nearly 12 million registered voters). The highest voter turnout in Wesley Chapel was in Precinct 24, which voted at the Williamsburg Tanglewood Club, and saw 234 ballots cast of 377 registered voters, for a turnout of more than 62 percent. The lowest voter turnout came from Precinct 99, which voted at the Northwood Community Center and saw only 1,124 ballots for the precinct’s 2,580 registered voters cast for a turnout of 43.6 percent. As everyone surely has heard by now, Republican Gov. Rick Scott narrowly won
his re-election bid against Democratic opponent Charlie Crist (with 48 percent of the state’s vote to Crist’s 47 percent), in what has been called the most expensive campaign in Florida’s history. Gov. Scott won re-election by just 65,000 votes, a similar margin of victory as he had against Democrat Alex Sink in 2010. This year, Libertarian gubernatorial hopeful Adrian Wyllie was only able to manage 3.8 percent of the state’s vote and two candidates with no party affiliation garnered only 1 percent combined. In Pasco, Gov. Scott gathered 46.65 percent, while Crist Rep. Danny Burgess (left) and Comm. Mike Moore (right) celebrate their respective victories at after-parties on Election Night, following the Nov. 4 General Election. Photos: OurTownFla.com collected 44.8 percent, and Wylful George Sheldon with 55 percent of the Pasco County Commission, as Republican lie received 7 percent of the county’s vote. Gov. Scott’s margin over Crist in state’s vote, to his 47 percent. Bondi won in Mike Moore defeated Democratic oppoPasco County was fewer than 3,000 votes. Pasco by nearly 40,000 votes (59 percent of nent Erika Remsberg with 58.9 percent of In Wesley Chapel’s 13 precincts, Scott de- the county’s vote to Sheldon’s 36 percent) the county’s vote, to win the District 2 seat feated Crist in eight (Crist actually won five and Libertarian opponent Bill Wohlsifer col- previously occupied by Comm. Pat Muliof Wesley Chapel’s precincts; see chart on lected just 4 percent of the county’s vote. eri, who served on the Board for 20 years. page 6), by a total of just 456 votes. In Wesley Chapel, Bondi won every precinct Moore received 55 percent of Wesley ChapIn addition, Republican Pam Bondi except Precinct 99. el’s vote and also only lost in Precinct 99. has retained the office of Florida’s Attorney On the local front, a Wesley Chapel See “Elections” on page 6. General, as she defeated Democratic hope- resident has been elected to serve on the
Wesley Chapel Chamber’s Executive Director Bitten By Pygmy Rattler By Matt Wiley
Although rattlesnakes are often perceived as a desert menace, they’re actually quite common in our area and it’s important to keep an eye out for them (and other venomous animals), or it could result in a painful bite and even a stay at a local hospital. Hope Allen, a resident of Grand Hampton and executive director of the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce (WCCC), walked out to her mailbox just after 7 p.m. on October 29, not knowing that it would be the last pain-free walk she would have for many weeks. While grabbing her
mail with one foot in the grass and the other on her driveway, a pygmy rattlesnake somewhere between 12-18 inches long lashed out and bit Allen’s ankle. “It felt like a sledgehammer came down on my foot,” Allen explains. “I didn’t even hear a rattle, but I turned around and saw the snake coiled up, with its head raised and fangs out. It got me good.” The bite sent her on a trip straight to Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel (FHWC) on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. Five days later, she finally was released, but not before being treated with 18 vials of antivenin during a 24hour period, and spending two days in the
Also Inside This Issue!
News, Business, Sports & Education Updates
Neighborhood Magazine
The Grove Needs Traffic Signal For Growth, Seven Oaks Elem. Students Sniff A New Flu Vaccine; Plus, Lots Of Business Features!
Area Makes Strides Against Cancer, City Grill Satisfies The Urban Appetite & More Neighborhood Nibbles & Biz Bytes!
Pages 1-27
Pages 28-40
Intensive Care Unit. “It’s been a horrible experience,” Allen told us just before our press time. “But, I’m on the mend.” Allen made an attempt to return to work parttime the week of November 10, including making an appearance at the WCCC rib- Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce bon cutting event at DPW Legal on Nov. executive director Hope Allen (right) continues 11 (photo right & see to recover from a pygmy rattlesnake bite that put her in the hospital for five days. pg. 37). “Pygmies are fairly According to the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), pygmy common snakes,” says spokesperson rattlesnakes, or “ground rattlers,” are mem- FWC bers of the pit viper family and common in Gary Morse. “And, every county in Florida. They’re usually See “Rattler” on page 9. found in areas near lakes, ponds and marshes. On average, the snakes measure less than 18 inches in length and usually are gray in color, with rounded black and red spots along their backs. Allen says that the snake that bit her looked about that size.